Automatic beverage dispensers have increased in popularity and are finding a variety of uses in restaurants and lounges for automatically dispensing beverages. In particular, these dispensers are used for dispensing alcoholic beverages and the ingredients for making a mixed drink, highball, cocktail or the like. One such automatic dispenser of which the present invention is a modification and improvement thereon, is shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,911. Although this dispenser has proved highly satisfactory for dispensing of most alcoholic beverages and mixes therefor, problems occur when the dispenser is used for dispensing of wines.
Wine, especially when originating from a bottle, upon exposure to air will go into secondary fermentation due to the oxygen content of the air. This secondary fermentation will ruin the taste and color of the wine if the wine is exposed to the air for any appreciable length of time prior to being served and consumed. Wine is usually supplied to restaurants and lounges in bottles, and it is illegal in certain states to transfer the wine into other containers prior to serving in order to eliminate this secondary fermentation problem upon opening of the bottle.
Therefore, the use of automatic beverage dispensers has been difficult to adapt for use in dispensing of wines, although the same is preferred due to the ease and accuracy of dispensing, as well as the associated cost controls and accounting features and other advantages provided thereby as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,911.
Consequently, the need has existed for an automatic wine dispenser of a type similar to that used for dispensing of alcoholic beverages and mixes therefor which eliminates this secondary fermentation problem.